Testing the Secaba-Rank tool: Validating its methodology to measure the efficiency of libraries versus Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and the Finland method

The purpose of this article is to validate the Secaba-Rank methodology based on the System Potency indicator to measure the efficiency of libraries. It is carried out a comparison of the efficiency results according to three methods: Secaba-Rank methodology, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), and the Finland method. These three methods have been used to measure the efficiency of the public libraries at the level of autonomous communities and provinces, and the Spanish public university libraries. The method used for the comparison of the results is the analysis of the linear correlation coefficients for each pair of variables. The results are very close to 1 or -1 and statistically significant in all the cases. Thus, it can be concluded that the different methods, including the Secaba-Rank methodology, measure the efficiency. Finally, some advantages for the Secaba-Rank methodology are presented and argued.